ROUND 17 / MAY 11, 2024
RICE-ECCLES STADIUM / SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
SUPERCROSS I MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP / SMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P88
for the veteran racer's first title.
"Deegan was there, and I
started catching him and I was
like, 'Go, I don't want to win this.
Stay away from me,'" Hampshire
said. "I was trying to stay as far
away from him as I could. But
then he hit a Tuff Block with
two to go, and it landed way too
close for comfort. It's just an-
other one of those times where
I've never
been in my life where
I'm like, 'I don't want to win this
race, just please stay away from
me.' But yeah, the last few laps,
we finally did it."
from Smith's fall.
Kitchen, meanwhile, ran
further back but couldn't make
significant ground on Hamp-
shire while trying to get around
other riders.
Hampshire
was riding well
and eventually caught up to and
made a run at Deegan late in the
race. However, he opted for the
safer second plate and finished
0.8 of a second back at the line
first despite a late-race at-
tack from Hampshire. Despite
winning, it wasn't
enough to
deny Vialle the Frenchman's
first 250SX number-one plate.
Deegan had to settle for second
in the championship.
Most of the hype going into
the race revolved around Hamp-
shire and Kitchen in their winner-
take-all situation.
The Husqvar-
na rider, Hampshire, started the
race
four spots clear of Kitchen.
Hampshire moved into third and
circulated there for most of the
race before gaining another spot
RJ Hampshire took second and, with
it, the 250SX West Regional title.
